Leading the way to a safer Essex - Essex Fire Authority Strategy 2016 to 2020 - Essex County Fire & Rescue

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Leading the way to a safer Essex - Essex Fire Authority Strategy 2016 to 2020 - Essex County Fire & Rescue
Essex Fire Authority Strategy 2016 to 2020

                        Leading the way
                        to a safer Essex

Kelvedon Park
Rivenhall
Witham
Essex
CM8 3HB

www.essex-fire.gov.uk
Leading the way to a safer Essex - Essex Fire Authority Strategy 2016 to 2020 - Essex County Fire & Rescue
Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

Contents

           Section 1
           Setting the context for change           3

           Section 2
           Where have we come from?               11

           Section 3
           Expanding role of the
           Fire and Rescue Service                15

           Section 4
           Where are we now?                      19

           Section 5
           The financial context                  23

           Section 6
           Key elements of our strategy
           for 2016 to 2020                       25

           Section 7
           People and leadership                  29

           Section 8
           Prevention                             31

           Section 9
           Protection                             33

           Section 10
           Response                               34

           Section 11
           Public value and collaboration         36

           Section 12
           Conclusion and next steps              39
           Programme 2020                         40
           Strategy on a page                     43
           Our values                             44

                                                                          1
Leading the way to a safer Essex - Essex Fire Authority Strategy 2016 to 2020 - Essex County Fire & Rescue
Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

                          Section 1

                          Setting the context for change
                          Essex Fire Authority faces a challenging future
                          because its Fire and Rescue Service operates
                          in a rapidly changing world. The population
                          of Essex is increasing and ageing. Threats from
                          international terrorism are rising. Climate
                          change, whose worldwide effects could be
                          devastating, seems to be causing periodic
                          and widespread flooding in the UK.

                          Against this picture of changing risk,          Though the overall number of fires is lower,
                          firefighters are attending fewer fires and      fires in Essex homes have not fallen at the
                          other emergencies, while the demands on         same rate as in other areas of the country.
                          other responders such as the police and         And the number of road traffic collisions
                          ambulance services remain very high.            attended by our Fire and Rescue Service
                          There is clear potential to provide more        has increased in the last five years.
                          effective and cost-efficient services through
                          co-operation. Central government has            We want to do something about this,
                          recently recognised this by holding a           and become one of the best-performing
                          public consultation on ‘Enabling closer         services for preventing fires and other
                          working between the Emergency Services’.        emergencies, and keeping people safe.
                          It is also bringing forward new legislation     To do this we need to invest more in our
                          that places a duty on emergency services        prevention and protection services.
                          to collaborate.
                                                                          Our community safety strategies, supported
                          Almost certainly, these changes will mean       by targeted prevention activities, have
                          that in Essex we won’t need as many fire        contributed to a 45% fall in the number
                          engines and firefighters as before. More        of incidents we have attended over the last
                          importantly, the role of firefighters will      decade. However, we know that the risk
                          broaden and their activities will become        of emergencies does not disappear. And
                          more diverse to fit better with the evolving    when they do occur, our firefighters will
                          needs of local communities.                     always need to react with the skills and
                                                                          resources to deal with them effectively.

                                                                          One of the biggest reasons we face change
                                                                          is the significant cut in funding from central
                                                                          government to finance the service. So from
                                                                          2016 to 2020 we will simply have to manage
                                                                          with less money.

Corringham Fire Station

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Leading the way to a safer Essex - Essex Fire Authority Strategy 2016 to 2020 - Essex County Fire & Rescue
Essex County Fire & Rescue Service                                                                                                                                                                                     Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

                   Chart 1.
                   Reduction in demand for emergency response in Essex. Incident data from the Service’s                        Essex had a 45% reduction in incidents
                   records of incidents attended. Population data from Office of National Statistics and traffic
                   count data from the Department for Transport.                                                                over the last decade.
                     20%

                                                                                                              Traffic
                                                                                                              (9% increase)
                                                                                                                                This many-sided role will become                  Changing society and changing risk
                     10%                                                                                                        increasingly difficult in future as budgets       The UK is becoming increasingly diverse
                                                                                                              Population        shrink. The current management                    in the make-up of its different communities,
                                                                                                              (7% increase)     arrangements, funding and governance              and much more complex in how people
                      0%
                            2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16     of national assets and resources to deal          live their lives. This complexity is now
                                                                                                                                with terrorism (and climate change,               being driven faster and further by social
                     -10%                                                                                                       discussed below) have evolved rather              and technological advances. Until the Brexit
                                                                                                                                than been designed. So they are quite             withdrawal, we belong to the European
                                                                                                                                complex and open-ended. They mainly               Union and trade in an expanding world
                     -20%                                                                                                       rely on collaboration, rather than                economy, which will lead to greater
                                                                                                                                legislation and regulation.                       difference and diversity within, and
                                                                                                                                                                                  between, UK communities.
                     -30%
                                                                                                                                There is growing pressure to use
                                                                                                                                local resources in a much more local              In recent years, we have come to
                     -40%                                                                                                       (democratic) perspective. There is also           understand that fires and other
                                                                                                                                likely to be greater political pressure           emergencies are not random or chance
                                                                                                            All incidents
                                                                                                                                to retain and protect local resources,            events – rather they often arise from social
                                                                                                            (42% decrease)
                     -50%                                                                                                       and a tendency towards less altruism.             and economic factors. In other words,
                                                                                                                                These influences pose some risk in                lifestyle and behaviour – rather than
                   Reduction in demand                                           The terrorist threat                           terms of the resilience of the national           ‘combustion processes’ – are often the
                   Over the last 10 years the national                           The attack on the World Trade Center           critical infrastructure.                          major factors in emergencies.
                   Fire and Rescue Services have been a                          in New York on 11 September 2001 (‘9/11’)
                   prevention and protection success story                       changed the world. The threat of terrorism                                                       This means that while we cannot predict
                   that has helped reduce the demand for                         remains. As well as being important in         Climate change                                    precisely when and where incidents will
                   emergency responses. The number of                            foreign policy, it is a major part of          Few will doubt that climate change is             occur, we can see clear trends and patterns.
                   incidents attended by fire and rescue                         domestic policy planning.                      happening, and that its consequences              These cover the localities and social groups
                   services in England has fallen by                                                                            will be significant for all. History will judge   most at risk, and even the times of the day
                   42% over the past 10 years.                                   Terrorism, for many parts of the public        whether today’s leaders are blessed or            and seasons when more incidents happen.
                                                                                 sector, is not the strongest factor in how     blamed for how they deal with it.                 This knowledge can help us plan and
                   Essex largely reflects the national trend,                    they organise their services. But it is for                                                      accurately model the type of emergency
                   with a 45% reduction in incidents over the                    the emergency services. This new threat        Our Fire and Rescue Service will have             appliances we need, the level of crewing
                   last decade. This has taken place alongside                   has fundamentally changed the role of          to deal with the impact and consequences          and the location of our resources. It also
                   rising population (7%) and traffic (9%).                      Fire and Rescue Services, putting them         of climate change.                                helps us to more accurately target our
                   So, while the number of incidents may not                     on the frontline.                                                                                prevention and safety work.
                   continue to fall at the same rate, we do not                                                                 In recent years there has been a dramatic
                   expect them to increase significantly. The                    We must anticipate incidents on a scale        increase in severe flooding across the UK,        We can prevent emergencies only by
                   level of demand is likely to remain low.                      that few forecast before 9/11. The UK is not   a pattern that is likely to continue. We play     influencing and changing the behaviours
                                                                                 immune, as we saw on 7 July 2005 (‘7/7’)       an important role in using our equipment          that lead to them, which is only possible in
                   Although the total number of incidents                        when four coordinated suicide bombs            and personnel to move large volumes of            partnership with others. However, we are
                   is reducing, those such as road-traffic                       exploded in London, three on the               water. The public expects us to help with         only just starting to appreciate how we have
                   collisions have increased. So we need                         Underground and one on a bus in                flood and water rescue, though in England         achieved success in recent years, and more
                   to review the changing risk profile                           Tavistock Square.                              this is not yet a statutory duty.                 work is needed on this.
                   and think differently about how we
                   protect communities.                                          This reality requires individual fire and      Climate change also raises the possibility
                                                                                 rescue authorities to think and plan for a     of very hot summers causing a high level
                                                                                 wide range of emergencies at different         of grass, heath and forest fires, followed
                                                                                 threat levels and occurring simultaneously.    by unpredictably wet or exceptionally
                                                                                 We must have the right resources available     cold winters.
                                                                                 for local, regional and national deployment,
                                                                                 within the right timescales and for almost
                                                                                 every eventuality, large and small. At the
                                                                                 same time, though, we must also deploy
                                                                                 our resources at a community level.

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Leading the way to a safer Essex - Essex Fire Authority Strategy 2016 to 2020 - Essex County Fire & Rescue
Essex County Fire & Rescue Service                                                                                                                                                                         Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

Safety has been at the heart of our community
work in recent years.

                    Of course, part of our work means using          We have many examples of where our             The current Government was elected with           Essex Fire Authority is already committed
                    solid data to target our safety efforts, and     Service has made a real difference, with       a manifesto commitment to “finish the job         to working with the PCC for Essex to
                    enabling our staff to get out of fire stations   impressive work engaging with young            of police reform”. The Policing and Crime         examine the business case for changing
                    and into our community more than ever.           people, for example through our Firebreak      Bill will support the transformation of           the political governance model of our
                    We will need to continue this and, indeed,       programme and partnerships such as with        policing and the Fire and Rescue Services         Service and to examine the potential
                    go much further. We must target our              the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.            by, among other things:                           efficiencies of greater collaboration
                    resources better by more data sharing            As a result of these programmes and our                                                          between us and Essex Police.
                    between public partners.                         work in schools, anti-social behaviour         • improving the accountability of local Fire
                                                                     has fallen significantly.                         and Rescue Services by enabling directly       Much collaboration already takes place,
                                                                                                                       elected PCCs to take over governance           with Essex firefighters co-responding
                    Positive role models:                            Our work in the community has become              from Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs)        to medical emergencies with the East
                    the Fire and Rescue brand                        one of our core activities. It’s such an          if a local case is successfully made           of England Ambulance Service and
                    Our partnership work has shown that              important part of what we do that we           • driving efficiency and better value for        responding on behalf of Essex Police to
                    we’ve often underestimated our                   couldn’t easily withdraw from it, even if we      money by facilitating closer collaboration     people trapped behind closed doors.
                    community’s regard for the Fire and Rescue       wanted to. Indeed, in view of some of the      • maximising chief police officers’ ability to
                    Service. When people talk about it, they         difficulties society faces, there’s a good        make best use of their workforce: officers,    In addition the Service and Essex Police
                    almost always have a positive tone, using        argument for further developing this work.        staff and volunteers.                          have launched a joint scheme supporting
                    words like ‘respect’, ‘community spirit’,                                                                                                         Parish Safety Volunteers, who provide crime
                    ‘courage’ and ‘teamwork’.                                                                       Part 1 of the Bill supports the Government’s      and fire prevention and safety messages to
                                                                     Partnerships and collaboration                 manifesto commitment to “enable fire and          the most vulnerable in rural communities
                    Our work at the heart of the community in        Over the last few years all public             police services to work more closely              across Essex.
                    recent years was first focused on improving      agencies have understood the benefits          together and develop the role of our
                    safety. However, this has had an unintended,     and importance of working together             elected and accountable Police and                Furthermore, we are actively pursuing the
                    though welcome, effect. We’ve been able          through local partnerships. However, the       Crime Commissioners”. The Bill:                   potential for joining up ‘enabling functions’
                    to apply our values to improve behaviour,        reality is that achieving real collaboration                                                     such as ICT, property and transport.
                    building greater community spirit and            across different sectors, different and        • imposes a duty to collaborate on all           However, dealing with the challenges that
                    cohesion in some of our most hard-pressed        complex bureaucratic machineries, and             three emergency services, to improve           all three emergency services face will
                    communities. We’ve done this in innovative       different authorities and funding regimes         efficiency or effectiveness                    require us to lift partnership and
                    ways, particularly among young people.           takes time and enormous effort before it       • enables PCCs to take on the functions          collaboration to a new level.
                                                                     delivers tangible outcomes.                       and duties of FRAs, if a local case is
                                                                                                                       successfully made
                                                                     Recent government changes include              • further enable PCCs to create a single
                                                                     moving the national fire service from the         employer for police and fire staff where
                                                                     Department for Communities and Local              they take on their FRA’s responsibilities,
When people talk                                                     Government to the Home Office. Future             if a local case is successfully made
                                                                     fire policy will also be affected by the       • in areas where PCCs have not become
about us, it’s in a                                                  Government’s Policing and Crime Bill.             responsible for fire and rescue, enables
                                                                                                                       them to have representation on their local
positive tone:                                                       In the last Parliament, the Coalition             FRA with voting rights, if the FRA agrees.
                                                                     (2010–15) made major changes to policing
respect, community                                                   to introduce more accountability and
                                                                     transparency. It introduced directly elected
spirit, courage,                                                     Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs),
                                                                     an improved Independent Police
teamwork.                                                            Complaints Commission (IPCC), and a
                                                                     strengthened Inspectorate. It increased
                                                                     capabilities by creating the National Crime
                                                                     Agency (NCA) and professionalism
                                                                     (by establishing the College of Policing);
                                                                     and it focused relentlessly on efficiency
                                                                     and cutting crime (down by more than a
                                                                     quarter since 2010).

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Leading the way to a safer Essex - Essex Fire Authority Strategy 2016 to 2020 - Essex County Fire & Rescue
Essex County Fire & Rescue Service                                                                                                                                                                           Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

 K Coalition Government reduced the deficit
U
by half since its post-crisis high in 2010.

                    Public Policy for the UK                        UK debt burden                                  Conclusion                                          In moving forward, we must also bring
                    Fire and Rescue Service                         The UK economy took some hard knocks            The points above describe several of the            our staff and the local community with us.
                    Historically, the Fire and Rescue Service has   in the global financial crisis of 2008. Eight   major issues we face, and provide powerful
                    not been high on the political agenda of        years on, the Government is still dealing       reasons for continuing to adapt and change.         We must be clear that our Service
                    governments until crises occur – major          with the consequences for the public purse.     In fact, there are strong reasons, not least        remains embedded in our community,
                    events such as 9/11 and 7/7, widespread         Commentators such as Deloitte and Reform        the financial climate facing public services,       whose safety lies at the centre of everything
                    flooding and strikes.                           in their publication, “The State of the State   for speeding up the process of change.              we do; and that the safety of our staff doing
                                                                    2015-16 – Recalibrating Government”                                                                 a dangerous job is equally vital. We aim
                    Shifting the responsibility for Fire and        observe that the deficit – the difference       In approaching the next wave of change, we          to manage risk, and we want to continue
                    Rescue Services to the Home Office, the         between what the Government earns and           must have a clear sense of purpose about            our success in doing so as we have
                    prospect of governance changes, and a           what it spends over a year – is expected to     how we will tackle these difficult issues,          done in the past.
                    statutory duty to collaborate all create new    be £69.5bn this financial year. The Coalition   with a clear strategy and clear operational
                    and exciting opportunities. Fire and rescue     reduced the deficit by half from its post-      plans for success over a realistic and              We need to be clear about our strategic
                    policy is changing.                             crisis high in 2010.                            reasonable period of time – 2016 to 2020.           priorities in the years ahead as they
                                                                                                                    This not only requires us to do things very         will provide the guiding principles for
                    In May 2016 the then Home Secretary,            The incoming Conservative Government            differently, but also to think very differently     the new strategy.
                    Theresa May, outlined the Government’s          planned to eliminate the deficit by 2019-20.    about the way we use our assets – people,
                    reform programme, which aims to transform       This no longer seems achievable. Future         fire stations, fire engines and other facilities.   Before explaining parts of the strategy,
                    Fire and Rescue Services, building on their     plans for eliminating the deficit will                                                              we want to describe the changes that have
                    previous success in preventing, protecting      see spending cuts continue at the same          This can only be delivered if supported             already taken place to show how they build
                    and improving public safety and wellbeing.      rate as in the last UK Parliament, leading      by a realistic financial plan. There is no          on what has already been achieved.
                    Hers was the first speech on reform since       to a substantial shift, by global and           doubt now that tough and bold decisions
                    the Home Office took responsibility for         historic comparisons, in the UK’s level         will be needed in all areas of the public
                    the UK Fire Service.                            of public spending.                             sector in the coming months.

                    The Home Secretary’s key points included        Our Fire and Rescue Service, like all other     However, our Service has already
                    developing the prevention agenda;               parts of the public sector, must demonstrate    been through significant reform and
                    partnership working to increase protection      public leadership, accepting responsibility     modernisation in the last few years
                    to communities; efficiency savings; unifying    for tackling the financial challenges and       (see section 2). If it is to be effective
                    research and development; and closer            at the same time continuing to improve          and seen as positive, the next wave of
                    working between the emergency services.         services rather than just ‘cut’. This will be   change must build on the last. It should
                                                                    an enormous challenge. Getting a sense          be evolutionary and provide continuity,
                    However, Mrs May also said she expected         of buy-in, understanding and engagement         rather than being part of the simplistic
                    Fire and Rescue Services across England         from the people of Essex – and, just as         language of ‘cuts’.
                    to improve their transparency and               important, our staff – will be crucial in
                    accountability, supported by an                 overcoming shared difficulties.
                    independent inspection. She challenged                                                                                                                              The UK deficit is
                    fire authorities to tackle concerns about
                    culture and diversity, co-ordinate activities                                                                                                                       expected to be
                                                                                                                                                                                        £69.5
                    such as procurement (buying) nationally
                    and give the public the information they
                    needed to assess their local service.

                    Accordingly, as we develop our strategic
                    approach, we must take every opportunity
                    to influence the development of national
                                                                                                                                                                                        billion
                    fire and rescue policy. To support this, we                                                                                                                         this financial year.
                    must engage with politicians at all levels.

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Leading the way to a safer Essex - Essex Fire Authority Strategy 2016 to 2020 - Essex County Fire & Rescue
Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

                                    Section 2

                                    Where have we come from?
                                    Government policy towards fire shifted
                                    significantly in the mid-1990s. At that time,
                                    fire brigades (as they were then) were part
                                    of the Home Office. In 1997, the Home Office
                                    published its “Safe as Houses” report.
                                    This was a milestone in developing UK
                                    fire and public protection services.

                                    Response through to prevention                   Secondly, during 2002-3, there was a
                                    Safe as Houses argued that fire services         wave of industrial unrest in support of a
                                    should give the same importance to safety        significant pay claim by firefighters’ trade
                                    and the prevention of fires – especially fires   union leaders. While it was this industrial
                                    in the home, where people died – as it did       action that grabbed the media and public
                                    to emergency response. New technology            attention and provided the springboard
                                    – in particular, cheap and effective             for action, it is worth understanding that
                                    domestic smoke alarms – made this                change would be inevitable because of
                                    cost effective and achievable.                   other pressures and forces at work.

                                    Clear policies were not developed,
                                    though, and there was little appetite            Independent Review (2002)
                                    for co-ordinated progress. This led to a         In late 2002, because of a stalemate
                                    piecemeal approach, with fire and rescue         between national employers and the Fire
                                    services moving at different speeds with         Brigades Union in an industrial dispute,
                                    their safety agenda. Indeed, some services       the Government was asked to intervene.
                                    continued to see themselves mainly as            This intervention took the form of an
                                    emergency responders, and they made              independent review.
                                    little progress in developing their approach
                                    to community safety. In many respects this       Its report set out recommendations for
                                    was true of our Service, but progress has        how the UK Fire Service should change
                                    been made in the last three years.               to meet the demands of the twenty-first
                                                                                     century. These remain relevant, and we
                                    Two events then lifted the fire services         have set them out below because they
                                    up the political agenda. First, 9/11 showed      still drive change today.
                                    that the UK faced a new level of terrorist
                                    threat, and the only civil organisations that
                                    could realistically respond to it were the
                                    Fire and Rescue Services.

Road Traffic Collision (RTC)
Extrication Team competes at UKRO

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Leading the way to a safer Essex - Essex Fire Authority Strategy 2016 to 2020 - Essex County Fire & Rescue
Essex County Fire & Rescue Service                                                                                                                                                                                 Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

We now have wider responsibilities
for a much greater range of emergencies.

                    Key principles of change                               So future planning needed to be based           • 	Integrating risk management.                   Conclusion
                    • 	A new rescue service: “Fire Brigades”              much more on data and evidence,                     We had to consolidate these three              It is helpful to understand the key
                        needed to become “Fire and Rescue                  taking more account of the nature and               approaches – prevention (safety),              principles and pressures behind the
                        Services”, with wider responsibilities             wide variety of risks faced by a modern             protection (of the built environment)          modernisation of the Fire and Rescue
                        for a much greater range of emergencies.           society. It also needed to be more                  and emergency response – under the             Services over the last 15 years. They will
                        This was crucial not only to embed the             adaptable and flexible to take account              title of ‘integrated risk management’.         remain important in future as we develop
                        roles that the service had evolved to              of changing risks to people and property.           We also had to be much more open               our relationship with the Home Office
                        undertake over the years – road traffic            And it needed to be much more scientific            with the public by publishing clear            and the Police and Crime Commissioner.
                        collisions, chemical incidents and so on           in deploying its fire engines, equipment            “Integrated Risk Management Plans”
                        – but also to deal with the new                    and personnel, with standards set locally           (IRMPs). These set out how we assessed
                        dimensions of terrorism and climate                rather than at a remote national level.             risks and set our local standards.
                        change that were emerging at that time.            So, rather than blanket fire cover
                        Fire Brigades needed to become civil               and standard fire engines, in future            • 	Role of central and local government.
                        protection organisations.                          there should be flexible, risk-based                Central government’s role needed to
                                                                           deployment.                                         change to that of setting clear policy
                    • 	Risk-based approach versus ‘blanket
                        cover’. Plans to deploy resources also
                        needed to change fundamentally.
                                                                         • 	Safety should become of equal
                                                                             importance to emergency response.
                                                                                                                               direction and enabling a national
                                                                                                                               infrastructure – especially as regards
                                                                                                                               resilience. Local policy and local risk
                                                                                                                                                                                              Over 100
                        Hitherto, Fire Brigades had operated on
                        the basis of blanket ‘fire cover’ – a guiding
                        principle since World War Two. Strategic
                                                                             In future, fire and rescue services
                                                                             have to plan their approach to safety
                                                                             and prevention with the same level
                                                                                                                               management would continue to be the
                                                                                                                               responsibility of local politicians on local
                                                                                                                               fire authorities. Fire and Rescue Services
                                                                                                                                                                                              pieces
                        planning focused on the potential for fire           of intent as planning their response to           also came within the Comprehensive
                        in commercial property, rather than                  emergencies. In addition they must use            Performance Assessment Process                                 of fire safety
                        reflecting activity or life risk. In other           their resources differently to enable them        (now abolished) as part of wider
                        words, fire engines and personnel were               to provide a high-quality emergency               local government.                                              legislation have
                        in fixed units, ‘just in case’, with personnel       response and improve safety. Inevitably
                        spending most of their time on fire                  this would involve shifting resources         • 	Reform of Conditions of Service.                               been simplified
                        stations, training and getting ready to              from one area to another. This was always         The Fire Service had fallen behind
                        respond if needed, but taking little                 going to be controversial but remains             other sectors in its terms, conditions                         and improved,
                        account of actual demand. In fact, there             an important principle.                           and working practices. Better, more
                        was no statutory responsibility for                                                                    modern ways of treating staff were                             shifting the role
                        responding to a host of non-fire                 • 	Controlling and regulating the                    needed. New terms and a new
                        emergencies that the public had come                 built environment. By the time the                ‘Conditions of Service’ framework                              of the new
                        to associate the service with – for                  independent review finished, increased            were agreed – in exchange for a
                        example, road-traffic collisions.                    regulation after a series of fire tragedies       new firefighters’ pay agreement.                               Fire and Rescue
                                                                             had led to a patchwork of over 100 pieces
                                                                             of fire safety legislation. This legal                                                                           Services towards
                                                                             framework needed simplifying, but
                                                                             also adding to with new legislation                                                                              regulating and
                                                                             that shifted the role of the new Fire and
                                                                             Rescue Services towards regulating                                                                               controlling the
                                                                             and controlling the wider, built
                                                                             environment. New enforcement powers                                                                              wider built
                                                                             had to be created to underpin the
                                                                             new risk-based regime.                                                                                           environment.

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Leading the way to a safer Essex - Essex Fire Authority Strategy 2016 to 2020 - Essex County Fire & Rescue
Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

                      Section 3

                      Expanding role of the
                      Fire and Rescue Service
                      The changes outlined in section 2 represent a
                      radical reform of the UK Fire and Rescue Service.
                      They required new primary legislation and
                      a new governance Framework to make them
                      work – the first new governance legislation
                      in decades.

                      Set out below are the major parts of that     The Fire and Rescue Services
                      Framework. Understanding the Framework        Act 2004
                      is important because it determines what       This is the core legislation for all Fire and
                      we must do and limits what we may do.         Rescue Services in England and Wales. It
                                                                    details the legal powers and responsibilities
                      How much money we can spend is                of Fire and Rescue Authorities.
                      important, but the Fire Authority and
                      the Service must still fulfil the functions   The Act requires the Secretary of State
                      set by the law.                               to produce a National Framework
                                                                    Document. Fire and Rescue Authorities
                                                                    must have regard to the Framework in
                                                                    carrying out their functions.

                                                                    The Framework enables government
                                                                    to change fire policy much more quickly
                                                                    without having to use further primary
                                                                    legislation.

Firebreak Programme

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Essex County Fire & Rescue Service                                                                                                                                                                        Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

We must make provisions for prevention,
protection and response.

                    National Framework Document 2012                Civil Contingencies Act 2004                    The Regulatory Reform                            Conclusion
                    The current Framework sets out the              This Act arose in response to the terrorist     (Fire Safety) Order 2005                         This brief context and overview of the
                    Government’s priorities and objectives for      threat, as well as several other civil          As mentioned previously, the legislation         Framework shows that our Fire and Rescue
                    the Fire and Rescue Service. It describes:      emergencies that occurred around the turn       that regulates fire safety in the built          Service is no longer just about putting out
                                                                    of the century. It imposes a series of duties   environment had evolved piecemeal                fires. The local, regional and national
                    • 	the Government’s expectations               on local bodies in England and Wales,           over time and, by 2003, a new approach           structures reflect our diverse roles.
                        for the Fire and Rescue Service             Scotland and Northern Ireland (known as         was needed.
                    • 	what Fire and Rescue Authorities            ‘Category 1 responders’). These include                                                          Reforms that started with the Independent
                        are expected to do                          the need to assess the risk of particular       So in October 2006 the Regulatory Reform         Review continue. The guiding principles of
                                                                    emergencies and to maintain plans for           (Fire Safety) Order came into effect and         risk management, the new and wider roles
                    The Framework says Fire and Rescue              responding to them. The Act also creates        brought about a single Fire Safety Act.          of our service, and what the Framework and
                    Authorities must:                               a broader concept of ‘emergency’.                                                                the legislation require remain crucial to our
                                                                                                                    The order replaced most of the existing          work. They will become more important still
                    1. identify and assess the full range of       To satisfy the legislation, Local Resilience    fire safety legislation. It now affects almost   as we try to reduce our costs dramatically.
                        foreseeable fire-and-rescue-related         Forums (LRFs) have been created to:             all employers, owners, occupiers and
                        risks their areas face, make provision      • 	establish and maintain effective            self-employed businesses.
                        for prevention and protection activities        multi-agency arrangements for
                        and respond to incidents appropriately          major emergencies, and                      Fire Authorities are the primary agencies
                    2. work in partnership with their              • 	minimise their effect on the public,        that enforce it. The change has been huge.
                        communities and a wide range                    property and environment                    Essex County Fire and Rescue Service
                        of partners locally and nationally                                                          has moved from being responsible
                        to deliver their service                    Each LRF must publish a risk register           for thousands of premises to hundreds
                    3. be accountable to communities               that sets its strategy and approach.            of thousands.
                        for the service they provide
                                                                                                                    More subtly, though, we have shifted
                    The Framework is intended to be strategic.                                                      from being almost a benign adviser and,
                    So it provides the foundation on which to                                                       sometimes, a prosecutor to being more
                    build local solutions, giving Fire and Rescue                                                   of a regulator that can have a major impact                      This framework
                    Authorities flexibility to meet their local                                                     on economic development. Our approach
                    communities’ specific needs. It is unclear                                                      to enforcement determines whether we                             show that our
                    at this stage whether the new Government,                                                       are seen as an enabler of economic
                    through the newly appointed Home                                                                development or the ‘dead hand of                                 Fire and Rescue
                    Secretary, will write a new Framework                                                           bureaucracy’. It is difficult to balance
                    setting out different expectations for                                                          our public safety duties with supporting                         Service is
                                                                                                                                                                                     no longer
                    the years ahead.                                                                                the development of business.

                                                                                                                                                                                     just about
                                                                                                                                                                                     putting
                                                                                                                                                                                     out fires.

16                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     17
Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

                    Section 4

                    Where are we now?
                    It is important to describe and celebrate
                    what Essex County Fire and Rescue Service
                    has achieved in a relatively short time,
                    as part of showing where we are now.

                    In many respects, the Service is very        We have also sought to build a more
                    successful. However, in some areas           inclusive approach to staff engagement,
                    there remains much work to do. In recent     running annual staff surveys called ‘Your
                    years we have become a more modern,          Voice’ in 2014 and 2015. The most recent
                    community-focused body, providing a          results show progress in some areas and
                    range of fire and rescue services. Our       more effort required in others. Above all
                    top priority is to prevent fires and other   the results confirm that a great deal of work
                    emergencies, and to change the               is still needed to build trust, unity of
                    behaviour of communities.                    purpose and staff engagement.

                    We now recognise we need to influence        We have implemented significant and
                    and educate people who live and work in      innovative changes as part of our plans
                    hard-pressed neighbourhoods and other        to modernise the organisation. These have
                    parts of the built environment. And we       led to a more efficient and effective service
                    need to ensure we protect people in          in line with the previously approved
                    these settings in a risk-based and           Integrated Risk Management Plan and
                    proportionate way.                           Service strategies.

                    In recent years we have reconsidered and     • 	We have invested £8m in replacing
                    reorganised our prevention and protection        44 fire engines and are now in year
                    services, delivering significant results.        one of a three-year roll-out programme.
                    However, more is now needed.                 • 	We have removed four outdated rescue
                                                                     tenders and replaced them with seven
                    As discussed in previous sections, more          new heavy rescue fire engines.
                    than ever we recognise the value of          • 	We have invested £1m in replacing the
                    collaboration and working in partnership.        breathing apparatus equipment used
                    Increasingly this influences and shapes          by firefighters across the entire Service.
                    how we provide our services and our          • 	We have introduced a new hazardous
                    other day-to-day work.                           material capability for the Service.
                                                                 • 	We have invested £0.3m in a programme
                                                                     to provide each fire engine with two
                                                                     ‘thermal image cameras’ to help improve
                                                                     firefighter safety.

Heavy Rescue Pump

                                                                                                                                    19
Essex County Fire & Rescue Service                                                                                                                                                                      Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

More than ever we recognise the value of
collaboration and working in partnership.

                    • 	We have invested £14m in developing         We now provide a broader, more                Table 1.
                        the Service headquarters at Kelvedon        cost-effective, efficient service that        Breakdown of incidents the Service has attended over a five-year period.
                        Park. The most recent phase of the          meets a wider range of needs in               ‘Special service’ refers to non-fire incidents needing a fire engine or officer to attend.
                        Authority’s property rationalisation        our local communities.                        These incidents include road-traffic collisions, rescue of people, flooding and hazardous
                        programme introduced a new Mobilising                                                     material incidents. Incident data comes from the Service’s records.
                        Control Centre, new Incident Command        Our community safety strategies,
                        Training and Assessment facilities,         supported by targeted prevention
                        and new Learning and Development            activities, have contributed to a 45%                                                                                                                      % of
                        facilities at the site.                     fall in the number of incidents we have                                                                                              Reduction        incidents
                    • 	We have disposed of the former Service      attended over the last decade. However,       Incidents                          2010-11   2011-12   2012-13   2013-14   2014-15     in 5 years      in 2014-15
                        Headquarters site in Hutton, Brentwood.     we know that the risk of emergencies          False alarm                          8855      6593      6082      5826      5802    35% decrease          44%
                    • 	We have continued to develop the            does not disappear. And when they do          False alarms due to apparatus        4693      2778      2605      2388      2474    47% decrease          19%
                        Service’s schools education programme,      occur, our firefighters will always be        False alarm good intent              3727      3509      3235      3255      3161    15% decrease          24%
                        providing safety messages to three-         needed to react with the skills and
                                                                                                                  Hoax calls                            465       306       242       183       167    64% decrease          1%
                        quarters of Essex schools in 2015/16.       resources to deal with them effectively.
                    • 	We have continued to develop our                                                          Special service                      3789      3635      3714      3738      3421    20% decrease          26%
                        FireBreak programme, delivering a           Table 1 shows the breakdown of incidents      Road traffic collisions              1134      1151      1219      1212      1290    14% increase          10%
                        total of 60 courses in 2015/16.             attended in the past five years. Around       Other emergency special services     2655      2484      2495      2526      2131    25% decrease          16%
                    • 	We have continued to develop our use        44% of the incidents that the Service         Fire                                 5798      5873      4213      4264      3918    32% decrease          30%
                        of volunteers. As a result, in 2015/16 we   attends are false alarms. Fires account for
                                                                                                                  Outdoor fires                        3055      3253      1879      1984      1729    43% decrease          13%
                        used over 6,700 hours of volunteering       30% and special services for 26%. Over
                        activity on a range of community            the last five years most types of incidents   Dwelling fires                       1196      1154      1099      1013      1014    15% decrease          8%
                        engagement activities.                      have fallen, though road-traffic collisions   Road vehicle fires                    923       805       742       739       689    25% decrease          5%
                    • 	We have begun a series of co-operative      have risen by 14%.                            Other fires                           624       661       493       528       486    22% decrease          4%
                        activities with Police and Ambulance
                        Service partners, which include co-
                        responding to medical emergencies                                                         Deaths and injuries from fires in Essex are
                        and Parish Safety Volunteers.                                                             low, averaging nine deaths and 100 injuries
                    • 	We fulfil our responsibilities under the                                                  a year over the past five years. Casualties
                        Civil Contingencies Act, as an integral                                                   from road-traffic collisions are higher
                        partner with other Category 1                                                             – an average of 18 deaths and 777 serious
                        Responders, and deploy our personnel                                                      injuries a year over the past five years.
                        in the UK (and more recently after                                                        The main type of other special service
                        an earthquake in Nepal).                                                                  fatalities includes suicide, and helping
                                                                                                                  other agencies to deal with fatal incidents.

                                                                                                                                                                                    Fires
                                                                                                                                                                                    account
                                                                                                                                                                                    for 30%
                                                                                                                                                                                    of incidents
                                                                                                                                                                                    attended in the
                                                                                                                                                                                    past five years.

20                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   21
Essex County Fire & Rescue Service                                                                                                                                                                                              Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

                                                                                                                      Section 5

                    Table 2.
                    Trends in casualties from fires and road-traffic collisions (RTCs)
                    and other emergency special service incidents.
                                                                                                                      The financial context
                    Incident data comes from the Service’s records.
                                                                                                                      The Fire Authority is funded by Council Tax
                     Casualties                          2010-11       2011-12     2012-13     2013-14     2014-15    (59%), National Non-Domestic Rates (21%)
                                                                                                                      and government grant (20%). The 2015
                     Fire fatalities                          13             9          12           9           2
                     Fire injuries                            92           103          93         109          104
                     RTC fatalities
                     RTC injuries
                                                              24
                                                             671
                                                                            18
                                                                           735
                                                                                        18
                                                                                       742
                                                                                                    16
                                                                                                   856
                                                                                                                 16
                                                                                                                880
                                                                                                                      spending review announcement means the
                     Other special service fatalities
                     Other special service injuries
                                                              21
                                                             156
                                                                            30
                                                                           182
                                                                                        25
                                                                                       196
                                                                                                    22
                                                                                                   171
                                                                                                                 23
                                                                                                                137
                                                                                                                      annual government grant will be cut by
                                                                                                                      £8m – about half – by 2019-20.
                    The number of fires has dropped, but fires        Published in September 2015, Irene Lucas’
                    in Essex homes have not fallen at the same        report found (among other things) a lack
                    rate as in other areas of the country. The        of trust in the Service between staff groups,   We can offset £2m of this annual grant           Chart 2.
                    number of road-traffic collisions in Essex        their representatives, Service management       loss by 2019-20 through savings in our           Budget 2016-17 breakdown of main areas
                    has increased. We want to reverse this            and the Fire Authority. This had arisen from    support work without affecting our frontline     of spending.
                    trend, and become one of the best-                many years of poor industrial relations.        services. But we cannot achieve all the
                                                                                                                                                                           Wholetime
                    performing services in preventing fires                                                           savings we need in this way. So we have             Firefighters
                    and other emergencies, and keeping                The report led Essex Fire Authority to invite   to change the size and shape of our               Support Staff
                    people safe. To do this we need to invest         an Expert Advisory Panel to help transform      operational response.
                                                                                                                                                                              On-Call
                    more in prevention and protection.                the culture. Since then, with support, advice                                                       Firefighters

                                                                      and, where necessary, challenge from this       The Fire Authority’s costs are mainly                   Control

                                                                      panel, our Service has made significant         staffing, which accounts for about 70%              Premises &
                                                                                                                                                                          Equipment
                    Review of culture                                 progress. Of course, changing culture is        of the budget for 2016-17. The chart below
                    In November 2014, in response to several          not easy and progress will take years rather    breaks down the main spending areas            Financing Items

                    serious incidents in the Service, including       than months. Much hard work lies ahead          for 2016-17, about £71.5m in total.                Other Costs
                                                                                                                                                                          & Services
                    the suicides of two serving firefighters,         but with the commitment and effort of a                                                            Firefighters’
                    allegations of bullying and intimidation,         range of stakeholders, a more open,             Some costs, such as premises and               Pension Scheme

                    and lengthy industrial disputes, the              supportive and inclusive culture will           equipment, are set by the number of              Support Costs

                    Authority acted decisively by asking              be developed.                                   fire engines and fire stations we need.                            0   5,000   10,000   15,000   £’000s    20,000   25,000   30,000   35,000
                    Irene Lucas CBE, an experienced reviewer,                                                         Other costs reflect past capital spending
                    to investigate the Service’s culture.                                                             and cannot be altered in the short term.         Conclusion
                    Her review was to examine whether the             Conclusion                                      Support staff include employees on               In the current financial year, we have
                    culture was having a detrimental impact           We should be very proud of our                  different terms and conditions from              continued our drive for efficiencies
                    on the Authority, its employees and the           achievements while at the same time             firefighters. They include employees             and have begun a major management
                    communities it serves. The report was             acknowledging areas that need more              who maintain fire engines, train and             restructuring, reducing the number
                    to recommend practical steps that would           work and development. We must now               develop staff, and do community safety           of senior officers by around 30%.
                    help make the organisation fit to deal            build on recent successes to plan our           work. Others look after finance,
                    with the challenges it faced.                     future, tackling the major challenges           information communications and                   We will now need to explore innovative
                                                                      highlighted in this document.                   technology, procurement (buying                  ways of delivering our range of services
                                                                                                                      things we need), risk, performance               and activities.
                                                                      We are confident we have the passion,           management and human resources.
                                                                      intellectual capacity and the talent to                                                          We will also need to transform our frontline
                                                                      face future challenges head on.                 We plan to make savings of at least £2m          services, and how we support them. We
                                                                                                                      a year in these areas. A management              must be willing to challenge who provides
                                                                                                                      review is underway to see if we can              what, at what price and how this achieves
                                                                                                                      make further savings.                            value for money to our community within
                                                                                                                                                                       a reduced funding pot.

22                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              23
Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

                      Section 6

                      Key elements of our strategy
                      for 2016 to 2020
                      Future strategy: We need to reconsider and be
                      clear about our view of the future. We need a
                      clear vision and a clear sense of purpose for the
                      Service. We need clear strategic priorities that
                      spell out how we see our Service developing.
                      These need to be supported by a revised set of
                      values and a structure that will achieve our new
                      priorities and fulfil what our strategy requires.

                      All this means we need the right kind of         Community risk management
                      management systems to provide successful         The Framework and our statutory
                      outcomes and build trust in the Service.         responsibilities are now driven by
                                                                       managing ‘community risk’. Our analysis
                      Crucially, we must liberate the talents of our   of community risk identifies communities
                      staff to achieve beneficial change. We must      and groups most at risk from fires and other
                      continue the process of cultural change at       emergencies. We then carry out various
                      all levels, getting greater buy-in and           community safety activities to prevent or
                      acceptance that the day-to-day life of a         reduce the risk to specific groups of people
                      firefighter and the Service places equal         and specific areas, often in partnership.
                      emphasis on Prevention, Protection
                      and operational Response.                        Our current risk model uses data and
                                                                       intelligence from different sources to
                      Doing all this is a tall order. Some issues      determine overall risk, and also to identify
                      will be controversial and will certainly         specific risks. This in turn informs our
                      stretch the organisation. However, the           emergency response and the types of
                      Service has a strong record of making            incidents we treat as emergencies, as well
                      changes that improve what we provide.            as those we treat as non-emergencies.

                      So, we believe the new approaches                In a targeted way, we also do fire-risk
                      and proposals that follow will allow us          assessments of commercial properties
                      to continue in this vein, and stay at the        to protect local people during their work
                      forefront of providing excellent services        and leisure time.
                      highly rated by our community.

Firebreak Programme

                                                                                                                                         25
Essex County Fire & Rescue Service                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

Our priorities: Service Led, Community Focused,                                                                           Strategic priorities                                         Strategic themes
Kind Culture, Financially Sustainable.
                                                                                                                          Service led                                                  Prevention
                                                                                                                          Identifying the range of services we will need to            The services we are going to provide to prevent
                                                                                                                          provide, independently or in partnership, to help            fires and other emergencies.
                    The risk picture                                      If we are not to develop a risk-averse          eliminate or mitigate risks in our communities.
                                                                                                                                                                                       Protection
                    • 	Domestic fires are predicted to continue          culture in the Service, we must ensure we
                                                                                                                                                                                       The services we are going to provide to protect
                        to reduce in number and severity as we            have confident officers who have been
                                                                                                                          Community focused                                            the public when fires and other emergencies
                        deliver our safety work in the community,         challenged and tested in a ‘safe’ but                                                                        occur.
                                                                                                                          Knowing who is at risk in our communities, why
                        but some fires will still happen.                 rigorous training environment, which
                                                                                                                          they are at risk, and where they are at risk.
                                                                          prepares them as well as possible for                                                                        (Emergency) Response
                    • 	The social and economic factors that              critical decision-making in an emergency.                                                                    The emergency response services we are going to
                        lead to fire – unemployment, drink/drug                                                                                                                        provide when fires and other emergencies occur.
                        culture, poor health, mobility/disability
                        – are all likely to continue to have an         A new strategy for 2016 to 2020
                        effect as the economy evolves and               In view of the risks and challenges we face,      A kind culture (formerly values driven)                      People and leadership
                        demographic changes occur. But the              we need a new strategy for 2016 to 2020           Develop an organisational culture that is open,              The things we are going to do to ensure
                        patterns of where, and indeed when,             that supports the Fire Authority’s previously     inclusive, trusting and kind. Using our values to            we develop meaningful roles our staff can
                        these fires occur, are likely to continue       declared priorities for the period, namely        shape behaviours that support this.                          be proud of.
                        to be relatively predictable. This enables      to be Service Led, Community Focused,
                                                                                                                                                                                       Developing all staff so they have the right
                        us to plan our deployment of people             Values Driven (now, after discussions with
                                                                                                                                                                                       knowledge, skills and attitude to safely, and
                        and resources.                                  staff, called a Kind Culture) and Financially                                                                  effectively perform their roles.
                                                                        Sustainable.
                    • 	Road-traffic collisions are likely to plateau
                        or continue to increase. Rescues and            During 2015, Essex Fire Authority carried         Financially sustainable                                      Public value and collaboration
                        deaths from crashes will continue to            out a public consultation as part of its          Identifying ways to ensure that the overall cost of          The things we are going to do to ensure
                        outnumber rescues and deaths from fires         Integrated Risk Management Planning               the Service is managed to accommodate future                 the Fire Authority provides efficient, effective,
                        by a big margin. The number of overall          (IRMP) process. The public gave a good            reductions in Government funding while limiting              value-for-money services so that we have
                        incidents we attend may fall, and we also       level of support to our proposals in that first   any council-tax increases to thresholds set by               financial sustainability by 2020.
                        need to reconsider our approach to road         consultation to maintain and develop our          Government or the Fire Authority.
                        safety. We believe there is a strong ethical    prevention, protection and response
                        argument for expanding our work in road         activities. So we plan to build on this by:
                        safety as part of wider partnerships.
                                                                        • 	giving safety messages to every               As a result, we developed the new strategy
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                OUR PRIORITIES:
                    • 	The range of risks in Essex includes very           school child in Essex                         through a series of staff engagement
                        large incidents. These pose enormous            • 	ensuring there is a working smoke             discussions. It has meant some fundamental                                                                  OUR
                        risks to people’s welfare and safety and            alarm in every household                      rethinking by both Senior Officers and                                                                     VA LUES:
                                                                                                                                                                                                       LE
                        to the local economy. Potentially they are      • 	working with partner agencies to meet         Elected Members of the Fire Authority.

                                                                                                                                                                                                   B
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        T
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     ES

                                                                                                                                                                                                NA

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            CO
                        on a scale not seen before, for example as          the other social needs of vulnerable                                                                                                    N HY

                                                                                                                                                                                             AI
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     T

                                                                                                                                                                                                        W O
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     OUR

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              MM
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   W ROF
                        a result of a major terrorist attack. These         members in our community                      The strategy offers a new expression

                                                                                                                                                                                                      ST , H
                                                                                                                                                                                           ST

                                                                                                                                                                                                           R
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   THEMES:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    E
                                                                                                                                                                                                         O

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    P
                                                                                                                                                                                                   TRU PEN
                                                                                                                                                                                      SU

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      AR ESSI

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    UN
                        major events are unpredictable. They will       • 	supporting the installation of systems        of our Vision and core Purpose, as well

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        E A ONA
                                                                                                                                                                                               AND RE O

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    IT Y
                                                                                                                                                                                   LLY
                        require a large number of appliances                such as sprinklers to protect buildings       as presenting five strategic themes:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           LW L
                                                                                                                                                                                               WE A
                                                                                                                                                                                FINANCIA
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Public
                        and equipment, though not necessarily               and their occupants

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     FOCU
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              AYS
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  value and                            People and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                collaboration                          leadership
                        all from Essex.                                 • 	working with drivers and riders to           • 	People and Leadership
                                                                            reduce the number of people killed            • 	Prevention

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          SE D
                    • 	Extremes of weather may cause an                    or injured on our roads                       • 	Protection

                                                                                                                                                                                               CON T R
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Our purpose:
                        increase in flooding and other effects of       • 	getting our first attendance to               • 	[Emergency] Response                                                                               We improve, protect

                                                                                                                                                                                                 W E V U TI O

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         W E US
                        climate change, which will place heavy              potentially life-threatening incidents        • 	Public Value and Collaboration

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            DO
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Response     and save lives.     Prevention

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      N G EO
                                                                                                                                                                                                       IB
                        demands on our resources.                           to within 10 minutes (on average)

                                                                                                                                                                                                        AL N

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    HI R AG
                                                                                                                                                                                                          UE OF
                                                                            from the time we receive a call               In addition, our Strategy on a Page

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Y T OU
                                                                                                                                                                                                             TH A
                    • 	Increasingly, our officers’ decisions in the    • 	getting our first attendance to all           (page 43) and our values (page 44)                                                                         Protection

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               ER E C
                                                                                                                                                                                                               E L
                        field are challenged and scrutinised. We            incidents to within 15 minutes on 90% of      includes statements about the

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 R
                                                                                                                                                                                                                L                                               A
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             E
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            W EV

                                                                                                                                                                                              KI
                        face the continuing difficulty of dealing           occasions from the time we receive a call.    Service’s core values.                                                                                                             I N

                                                                                                                                                                                                ND
                                                                                                                                                                                                       C                                                                    D
                        with a ‘risk-averse’ culture in society,                                                                                                                                           UL                    WE WO
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       RK AS                           LE
                                                                                                                                                                                                                TU               ONE TEAM
                        which seeks to hold someone to account                                                                                                                                                       RE                                          CE
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               VI
                        whenever bad things happen.                                                                                                                                                                                                      SER

26                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         27
Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

                                  Section 7

                                  People and leadership
                                  Our people are our greatest asset. We have
                                  already described how the Service has radically
                                  changed in recent years. Much of the impact
                                  of this change has fallen on our people. Some
                                  changes have been hard to implement and
                                  involved conflict, including industrial action.
                                  In recent years we have developed a range
                                  of ways of engaging with our staff.
                                  This engagement will continue.

                                  It is clear that more change lies ahead.         However:
                                  This could feel daunting and challenging.        • 	staff want us to engage properly with
                                  There remains the potential for difficulty in        them on difficult decisions before they
                                  our industrial relations. Some of the                are made
                                  challenges include:                              • 	staff want to be able to contribute to these
                                                                                       decisions to get the best fit between their
                                  • 	delivering the Option for Change                 expectations/aspirations and public value
                                      approved by Essex Fire Authority
                                  • 	responding to the Home Office’s              It is also clear that the challenges must
                                      ‘Fire Reform’ agenda                         be tackled equitably across the whole
                                  • 	transforming the culture of the Service       organisation and from ‘top to bottom’.
                                  • 	co-operating with other emergency            If those at the top call for all of us to ‘do
                                      services                                     more with less’, this must also be apparent
                                  • 	changes in the political governance          in their own actions. Much of this has
                                      framework                                    already happened. We will be working
                                                                                   to complete a range of changes to develop
                                  We must deal with these complex issues in        and maintain the knowledge and skills
                                  a way that meets the public’s expectations       of our talented people.
                                  and continues to achieve a motivated,
                                  well-rewarded workforce. There is some           In addition, we will continue the review
                                  good news because it is clear that:              of our management structure and will be
                                                                                   working on building the attributes that
                                  • 	staff are proud of their work with           will equip our Service to become a
                                      the Service                                  learning organisation.
                                  • 	staff care about the Service’s future
                                  • 	staff are realistic about what is expected   These steps will strengthen the expertise
                                      of them in their roles                       and responsiveness we have across the
                                  • 	staff appreciate the need for further        Service and make us more able to adapt
Co-Responding scheme with EEAST       change and are willing to embrace it         and change.

                                                                                                                                                       29
Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

                              Section 8

                              Prevention
                              For many years prevention was seen largely
                              as Home Fire Risk Assessments and checks,
                              aligned to an enthusiasm to engage in
                              partnerships. Prevention now needs to be
                              considered in a much wider context.

                              Prevention is only truly possible with         This means changing the way we engage
                              a fundamental change in the behaviour          in community-safety activities. So we need
                              and lifestyle factors that lead to fires and   to provide them at times convenient to our
                              other emergencies. These factors are not       community and then arrange our other
                              the same in every community. So we need        activities around them.
                              to focus on the most vulnerable and hard-
                              pressed communities where the risk is          Officers and Elected Members greatly
                              highest. Targeted partnership activity         appreciate that our prevention work saves
                              must therefore be a central plank of           lives and provides economic value. They
                              our prevention work.                           remain committed to these areas of the
                                                                             Service and are keen to build, develop
                              We also need to embed prevention and           and grow them. This means looking in a
                              community safety as a major part of our        different way at our capital programme
                              core business across the whole Service.        and priorities, as well as the fleet and the
                                                                             assets we deploy to support community
                              There is agreement that community safety       safety. The targeting of prevention work,
                              work is very important. But there is not       and the planning to deliver it, also needs
                              unanimous agreement that prevention is         to be much more tightly integrated into
                              just as important as emergency response.       a new planning framework.

                              Some people believe we have gone too
                              far with community safety, and that            Priorities for prevention
                              emergency response operations should           In October 2015 after a public consultation
                              take precedence, especially when               exercise on the Authority’s Integrated Risk
                              resources become more limited. Others          Management Plan, Essex Fire Authority
                              believe prevention is the most effective way   agreed to support the following additional
                              of saving lives and represents significantly   priorities for the Service’s prevention work:
                              better value for money for our communities.
                                                                             • 	Delivery of safety messages to every
                              The answer is to strike a new balance,             school child in Essex.
                              as both are important. We have to find         • 	Working with partner agencies in
                              ways to manage our budgets to enable               meeting the social needs of the
                              us to do both, even if our resources have          vulnerable members of our communities.
                              been reduced. So, firefighters of the future   • 	Working with drivers and riders to
                              must regard being community-safety                 reduce the number of people killed
                              professionals as an integral part of               or injured on the roads.
Schools Education Programme   being a fire-and-rescue professional.

                                                                                                                                                31
Leading the Way to a Safer Essex

                   Section 9

                   Protection
                   Protection is about keeping people safe in
                   the built environment, through a risk-based
                   inspection regime and a rigorous but balanced
                   enforcement regime. Protection also arises from
                   progressive ways of engineering safety into
                   building design, building protection and the
                   space around commercial properties.

                   It is also about protection in the home,     We have already started to explore how
                   so we need to carry on with our home         we can use technology to improve our
                   safety checks. But we also plan to go        services, but there is huge potential for this
                   further, supporting the use of technology    to transform how we achieve the protection
                   such as domestic sprinkler systems           aspect of the Service with mobile working/
                   and telecare facilities.                     online services and so on. The recent Fire
                                                                Safety Review has taken account of much
                                                                of what is needed.
                   Alignment of risk models
                   We also need to connect what we learn
                   from fire-protection inspections to our      Priorities for protection
                   decisions on how best to respond to an       In October 2015, after public consultation
                   emergency. So we need to maintain the        on the Authority’s integrated risk
                   systems that ensure operational crews        management plan, Essex Fire Authority
                   have the intelligence gleaned from           agreed to support the following additional
                   fire-protection activity, and we must feed   priorities for the Service’s protection work:
                   this intelligence into our operational
                   policy making.                               • 	To ensure there is a working smoke
                                                                    alarm in every household.
                   Equally, we must learn lessons from          • 	To support the installation of systems
                   operational incidents and share them             such as sprinklers to protect buildings
                   with protection officers. We must build          and occupants.
                   our engagement and work with local
                   councils as part of our Essex-wide
                   relationship building, and apply our
                   expertise to support greater resilience
                   and business continuity for our
                   commercial community.

Home Fire Safety

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